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Blake, Wm. The Progress of Poesy; a Pindaric Ode; Page 1- Title-Page. 1797.

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An 11-year-old boy born deaf experienced hearing for the first time following successful gene therapy at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

While hundreds of millions of people in the world live with hearing loss that is defined as disabling, Aissam is among those whose deafness is congenital. His is an extremely rare form, caused by a mutation in a single gene, otoferlin. Otoferlin deafness affects about 200,000 people worldwide.

This groundbreaking treatment marked the first instance of gene therapy being used for congenital deafness in the United States.

Aissam: “There’s no sound I don’t like. They’re all good.”